Vegan update: two weeks in

So we’re nearly halfway through our vegan month and I thought it was time to update you all on our progress. It’s so far so good for us at this point and I’m so pleased with how we’ve done. We’re both taking this very seriously and I think just how strict we have been on ourselves so far has surprised both of us, we genuinely want to make a success of eating vegan and eating more healthily.

The main issue I have found so far is trying to get food as and when, planning meals is easy and there is so much stuff out there if you look but if you are just hungry for a little snack, it can be difficult to pick up something vegan, nice and filling.

Hello, Charlotte’s boyfriend here. I thought I’d sneak in and add a little omission from this weekend just gone. When we started this Vegan month we both agreed that we’d be as strict as possible, except for preplanned events where our diet may cause an issue. If there was a vegan option available, obviously we would have that, otherwise we would choose something vegetarian. On Friday night we found ourselves at the wedding of two friends, and the buffet consisted of a massive cheese platter. Not wanting to cause a fuss, we both agreed that for that night only, we’d eat cheese. So, yes, Friday night we had cheese, but it was out of necessity. Anyway, enough of me, bye!

For that reason, we have stuck strictly to planning meals particularly lunches at work and teas every night. The more we plan, the less likely we are to pick up something that isn’t vegan and we’ve had some great meals so far including a vegan homemade soup, vegan pesto and spinach pasta and stirfry with vegan chicken pieces.

We’ve also managed to eat out at Peddler Market earlier this month where there was a host of vegan fare on offer. I had the beetroot and bean burger and my boyfriend had a vegan bean burger and we shared some delicious vegan cauliflower koftas. It was tasty and delicious food proving that vegan food can be just as flavoursome as any other and we got ourselves a huge meal for a tenner between us.

We have around two and a half weeks left and we still have so many meals and things we want to try. We’ve only eaten out once during the month too so we want to get out and about and try some more of the vegan food Sheffield restaurants have to offer. I’ll try my best to keep my instagram updated with meals and what we are eating and as ever if you have any recommendations for us, do let us know.

Finally, I’d like to go back to the reason we are doing this, to eat a little healthier and hit the reset button on our diet. So far, I feel healthy having followed a vegan diet for the last two weeks. I’ve had less afternoon stomach bloating and more energy and even though I’ve had a summer cold over the past week, thanks to my boyfriend and his German stag do shenanigans for that, I’ve felt a lot better health wise. Plus, me and my boyfriend have started to the Couch to 5K this month and I honestly feel great for being able to do something I never thought I would be able to do.

So whether I keep the vegan diet up after August or not is up in the air at the moment but I know I will continue with some of the changes I’ve made as it has improved my health for the better. And on top of the running, I know I’ve made some changes this month that are most definitely for the better.